Hidden
by doryfishie
Summary: SMILE She had never smiled at him. It was always hopeful, covering up the hurt; very self-conscious. Never like this. Genuine, if tentative, this one was real. It was hers. He liked that smile. SASUSAKU


**Konichiwa! haha, it says that on my shirt...anymewho, i just want to say that I absolutely love this fanfiction, and I hope you do too! If you do, I like hearing about that, and if you don't, tell me why so I can be even more perfect (like oranges.) Both of those require reviewing...just an fyi. kudos to those what the "C-" and "O" represent!**

**Listening to: Where ever you will go (The Calling)**

**Disclaimer: I like writing about Naruto, and drawing chibis, not an actual manga. No attention span here!**

_Fun fact: Japan celebrates 2 Valentine's Days of sorts: Valentine's Day, which is on the 14th and where females give gifts to the boys they like. St. White's day is March 14th is the opposite, where the males give the gifts._

He had spent years building his walls. Conscientiously laying each brick, and later placing each block of steel in its place.

Behind the walls he hid. It was a very good hiding place, and no one had yet to see it. Sakura might have made it beyond the first few barriers, Naruto farther still, and he was pretty sure Kakashi had a vague idea of what it was, but no one had seen what he concealed behind his defenses.

Inside the very last wall, crudely assembled by a child who had just lost his family, a seven-year-old boy cried.

C-

It had been a very long time. So long that even he didn't know what he hid, only that he should protect it and keep it from others eyes. After all, it was locked in there for a reason.

However, it was able to escape sometimes, granted only in his sleep. That's why he hated it. Sleeping was the one time he was vulnerable, unable to protect against the enemy. But then again, it's hard to fight an enemy that resides within you.

C-

When he returned, he felt them digging at it again; tearing through his painstakingly made defenses as if they owned the place. Not only did it allow them in, but it also allowed the thing out. That must not happen. He knew it, but they didn't. They kept barging through his so carefully placed barriers. His teammates didn't know how much they were hurting him.

C-

His replacement also had walls. It wasn't that hard to tell, especially for one so proficient at making them. He watched as his teammates broke the last of the boy's defenses in a slightly sadistic mindset.

That was going to happen to him, wasn't it?

Well, he wouldn't allow it. He would never allow anyone inside, especially some loudmouth blond and pink-haired bimbo. He knew they had secrets, knew that they kept things close to their hearts that they didn't tell others, hidden deep within their soul.

His were just a little more protected.

* * *

She knew he didn't like them. They were infringing on his life, on his being, on his heart. He didn't like that, and she knew this.

Yet she continued. Sometimes she'd ask herself why, "For the greater good? He'd feel better after it?" She kept making up excuse after excuse that it was because he would benefit. But she knew he wouldn't. Deep down, she knew he would hate her and Naruto for interfering, for coming in.

They were being selfish, she knew, but yet she continued.

O

It was a slow-going process. He put up quite a bit of resistance, more than Sai for sure. A few times she wondered what would happen if she stopped. What would he do?

But she couldn't stop, not now that they were so close; so close to finally opening up Uchiha Sasuke, avenger, loner, hottie. He was every girl's dream, including hers. Looking back on her crush, she realized that it hadn't been love. It had been a combination of his looks, his unattainability, and the fact that if she did win his heart, she'd be the envy of every girl in Konoha.

Now she knew better, she knew _him_ better. Sure, she'd get his looks, as well as the envy, but now her feelings went deeper. She couldn't explain it, but her bond with Sasuke was something she had never felt in her life, and it was scaring her.

O

Ah, spring. She loved spring: it was when her flowers bloomed. Festivals sprung up everywhere for the Sakura trees, it was a gorgeous time; it was a time of rebirth.

It was brought on by winter.

* * *

How he hated spring. Her hair was everywhere: it was disgusting. Girls were asking right and left to go to a festival with him. Didn't they realize he had better things to do with his life?

Didn't they realize he already had a girl?

No, of course they didn't. No matter how annoying and nosy these girls get, they didn't know him. They knew his body, his looks, and his exterior. They didn't know what was behind those walls.

Only she did, and he loathed her for it.

C-

"Sasuke-kun--"

"No."

"B-but you don't--"

"I don't care."

"Why n-not? It'll be fun…"

"You're annoying."

C-

He hated rejecting her. He ignored everyone else, but she required an answer. Damn her. Damn her perseverance the dobe had obviously given her. Damn her.

C-

He ended up going to the festival anyway. Why paying for Ramen was an excuse to go to a festival, he had no idea, but it was better than fighting in his apartment: everything would get all dirty. He hated dirt, and clutter. Unnecessary items were just that, and led to untidiness which later became confusion. That's why his living area was kept clean and orderly.

The only muddled place was in his head. The walls were meant to keep others out, but they also kept shit in.

C-

"Oi, Teme, do you see Sakura-chan? She was supposed to meet us here!"

"..."

"K-kon ban wa! Gomen, I was late. Getting dressed took a little longer than expected."

"That's fine Sakura-chan! You look very pretty now! Dattebayo!"

"Are you saying I don't look pretty all the time?!"

"N-no, I didn't mean that—waaaah! Sakura-chan, you don't need to hit me!"

BAM

C-

He didn't miss the hopeful expression she threw his way when she stated the reason for her tardiness. She wanted him to compliment on her outfit. Say how tastefully the red of the yukata coordinated her hair and fair skin, how the cherry blossoms sewn into the fabric around the bottom really seemed to fall as she walked, how the light pink obi matched her hair to the shade, and how the green decorative ornaments that hung from her hair like drops of water harmonized with her eyes.

Well, he didn't notice any of it.

C-

"Ano…Sasuke-kun I-I like your yukata."

"Aa."

"Where did you get it?"

"Naruto forced it on me."

C-

LAUGHTER. The dobe had always made her laugh. Or their sensei, or other people. She never laughed at him, or at anything he said. He just assumed it was because she was too shy, or more likely, he just wasn't funny. He could believe that.

C-

"What's so funny?"

"O-oh, nothing…"

"You laughed, therefore something was funny."

"Well…t-the way you said that with such a straight face was just so…you."

C-

SMILE. She had never smiled for him either. Well she did…all the time, but it was always a hopeful one, or one to cover up the hurt. Always very self-conscious. Never like this. The smile she wore around him was not carefree as this one was. Genuine, if tentative. This one was real. It was her.

He liked that smile.

* * *

She hadn't tried to lose Naruto. Really. It had just sort of…happened. She didn't purposefully point out the free ramen when Sasuke wasn't looking. Really.

O

It was fun, if only for a while. He didn't say much, but that was okay, she didn't expect him to. Naruto had found them again eventually, and together the three wandered around. Two willingly, one not so much.

Team Seven was back.

O

"That was so fun! Thank you Naruto for inviting me!"

"Hehe, no problem Sakura-chan, but it would've been more fun if the Teme hadn't been here! Dattebayo!"

"Dobe, you're the one who invited me."

"That's cause I didn't think you'd come! And don't call me 'dobe'!"

"You show up at my door and dragged me here."

"Oh yeah! Well, maybe that's just 'cause you were too weak to fight back!"

"Dobe, I could beat you any day."

"Well why didn't you?!"

"You would've destroyed my apartment, and I didn't want to deal with an unconscious body."

"Who said I would be the one unconscious?!"

O

SMILE. Sometimes her teammates could be so funny. Sometimes she envied the way Naruto was able to communicate with him. So easily, without a stutter or a blush. But what she coveted most was Sasuke's response.

O

"Hehe, that's enough Naruto. I need to get home, and you should too."

"But Sakura-chan, this teme here is being mean!"

"Fight tomorrow or something."

"Pft, I could beat him tonight."

"Sasuke-kun you're not helping--"

"Who says you'll beat me?!"

SMACK

O

Sometimes Naruto needed a helping hand. It was past his bedtime after all.

* * *

It was his birthday. He would've forgotten the specific date a long time ago if not for his otherwise incompetent fangirls. Valentine's Day was worse, but this was still bad. Gifts and offers of all sorts were presented to him. It was disgusting.

It also meant he had to reject Sakura…again. Seriously, who offers a date as a present? He was offended that she thought she knew him.

C-

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!"

Grunt

"I-I got you a present. Happy birthday! You're nineteen now."

"It's the Teme's birthday?!"

THUMP

C-

So it wasn't a date. Maybe she knew him better than he thought.

C-

"Ano…if you don't like it, I suppose I could always return it…"

"It's fine."

C-

SMILE. There it was again, the genuine smile; her smile. The smile he liked.

C-

"A-arigatou Sasuke-kun! I'm glad you like it. I wasn't really sure what to get you…"

"Why would you get Sasuke-teme a gift, Sakura-chan?! Don't waste your money! Dattebayo!"

CRASH

* * *

He liked her gift. It was more than she could hope for. Her teammate was a man of few interests, so it wouldn't do to get him something impractical. Weapons were always a necessity in the Ninja world, and new ones were always being made, of different shapes, sizes, and quality.

She had spent almost two months pay on the items.

O

Summer wasn't her favorite time, but it did bring the sun. She liked the sun. It was bright and cheerful and happy. What she liked more were all the flowers and how colorful they were. Lighting up the whole of Konoha into a wonderful rainbow of colors.

Summer was also full of cloudless nights. She liked staring at up at the night sky: it both frightened and calmed her. It was so beautiful, so endless.

* * *

It wasn't uncommon for him not to sleep. The thing inside of him had kept him up again. That was the third time this week. He knew why the frequency of the sleepless nights was increasing. His walls were falling, toppling over one another at an ever faster rate.

And it was all their fault…right? They had brought his meticulously placed barriers crumbling around his feet. He had tried his hardest to keep them away and build new ones. He didn't want anyone in…right?

C-

LAUGHTER. He heard it in his dreams. Her laughter. Tinkling softly, like little bells. How he…

He didn't hate it.

C-

Summer: a time of festivals, joy, and warmth. No wonder he hated it so much.

C-

"Hey, Naruto, I'm bored! Let's go to the beach."

"That sounds like fun Sakura-chan! Dattebayo! Just you and me--"

"Great! I'll go invite Ino-pig and maybe Hinata. Their teammates can come too!"

"But Sakura-chan--"

"Oh yeah, ano…Sasuke-kun, do you want to come?"

"Waaaah! No, Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme shouldn't be invited! Dattebayo!"

"Naruto, don't be mean! Sasuke-kun can come if he wants!"

"Aa."

C-

He only came to see her smile again. Damn that smile. Damn her. Damn the walls that kept her out.

* * *

She hadn't expected him to come, but when he did, she smiled: smiled at his acceptance after so many years of rejection, smiled because he accepted her offer, not Naruto's, smiled because after so many years, their work had paid off.

His barriers were falling.

O

"Thank you very much everyone for coming!"

"No problem, Sakura."

"Yeah, forehead girl, great job at getting Sasuke-kun here!"

"Troublesome."

"T-thank you for inviting u-us Sakura-chan."

"But why did your teammates have to come?!"

"Kiba, be nice."

"Haha, great party Sakura! You even got Neji here!"

"Hn."

"Ah, youthful Sakura-san, you're parties reflect the youthfulness that resides within your beautiful flame!"

"Hehe, thanks guys, it wasn't much, just swimming. Thank you to Chouji for providing food!"

O

This was what summer was about. Friendship wasn't like the night sky; it wasn't lonely.

* * *

Ah, autumn. He didn't mind this time so much. Everything was dying: the trees, the plants, the warm air. The summer was leaving. Good riddance.

C-

"Ano, Sasuke-kun, its Naruto's birthday tomorrow. Are you going to do anything for him?"

"Why would I?"

"W-well he is your teammate…"

"So?"

"He would really appreciate it…"

"So?"

"Couldn't you be nice once in a while?"

"Why should I?"

"What if he dies tomorrow?!"

"He's a ninja."

"Don't you care about him at all?!"

"You're annoying."

C-

Because, despite his hatred of them for destroying his fortifications, the little boy inside it all was crying out for help. They heard that call, when no one else would.

C-

"Here"

"What's this Teme?"

"It's your birthday."

"So? I don't need anything from you! Dattebayo!"

"Sakura was being an annoyance; she said this would shut her up."

"Hey! Don't call Sakura-chan annoying!"

"Well, she is."

"No she isn't! Dattebayo!"

"Shut up and open the damn gift."

"THE TEME GOT ME RAMEN?!"

"You like it don't you?"

"..."

C-

For the first time, he saw the dobe speechless. Where was the camera?

* * *

She loved the colors. Sure, it was colder, but she didn't mind. The sun still shown, there was still color in the trees and grass. Granted it wasn't the usual green, it was still beautiful.

But she knew that winter would eventually come. Fall was the end of the color; the beginning of black and white. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't hate winter: it was just like him.

O

Her bond with him was growing, she could feel it. When she looked back on how she used to act, she laughed. How foolish she had been to expect him to like that kind of thing, or want to go there. As the days passed, her knowledge of him grew.

Information was getting leaked.

O

"You got Naruto a gift."

"You would've bugged me about it if I didn't."

"…I thought you didn't care."

"I don't."

"Then why did you care about me bugging you?"

"You're annoying."

"…but it's better than nothing."

O

Because it was. The fruit of seven years of work: he knew she was annoying.

* * *

She was so god damn annoying. Wherever he went, she was there. He turned and he saw her pink hair, closed his eyes and her green eyes were watching, and he couldn't do anything about it. There was no way to break the bond they now shared.

Bonds. Everyone spoke of them. They could go to Hell for all he cared, just make sure she stays.

C-

Winter was back. It was cold and dull, just the way he liked it. How could anyone stand spring? It was so colorful, so filled with her.

C-

He had discovered winter was a prime time to build new barriers a long time ago. Another time was when they were on a mission, because it meant they weren't here to tear down what he had so carefully built. Today was a combination, the ideal time, so why didn't he feel like repairing the damage they had created?

C-

The nightmares were stronger now, when they were gone. Or maybe it was because before they had filled the holes in the walls with their presence, and now that they were gone there was nothing to keep the little child from coming out and terrorizing his sleep.

Oh, how tired he was.

C-

"Oi, Teme! We're back! Hope you didn't miss us!"

"Dobe."

"Hey, don't call me 'dobe' Teme! I'll kick your ass!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Naruto, you're injured! Don't go picking fights!"

"I could beat Sasuke-teme even if I was half-dead! Dattebayo!"

"Pft, I'd be the one to make you half dead dobe."

"No you wouldn't teme!!"

"Naruto, as your doctor I command you not to fight!"

"Aww…Sakura-chan! You're being mean! Dattebayo…"

SMACK

C-

He hadn't missed them one bit. They were loud, obnoxious, and stupid. They were unimportant. They only filled in the holes. He didn't need them.

* * *

Winter was a cold month, especially up north. She couldn't wait to return to Konoha where weather was milder, but more importantly, he was in Konoha, waiting for her. Waiting wasn't the correct term, but she used it anyway. It made her feel special.

O

"Brrr…Naruto, it's too cold to get ramen today!"

"Nonsense, Sakura-chan, the ramen will warm you up! Dattebayo!"

"Dobe, it's too early to be eating this crap."

"Teme! Ramen isn't crap! And it's never too early!"

"It is crap, that's why you eat it."

"Teme!"

"Naruto, we refuse to come with you to get ramen. Let's get something else."

O

That was how they ended up eating in a café. If it had been her choice, she wouldn't have eaten there, but it was better than Ichiraku. The best part was that he had been the one to suggest it. Granted, it was only because he was getting cold; it was still an improvement from leaving.

She wanted to cry at how long it had taken them.

O

She hated him. Hated him and his stupid walls. She loathed the way he kept making more, how they barely made a dent. It wasn't fair.

* * *

He hated them. They kept destroying his barriers, and it was only a matter of time before they were all gone, and the little boy was set free.

They were so close, and he despised them for it.

C-

He hated spring, it meant her.

C-

She wouldn't leave his thoughts. He'd tried banishing her to that corner where he stored other useless emotions, but she came back, bringing more. Why couldn't she leave him the hell alone?

C-

"Why can't you leave me the hell alone?!"

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"Just go away. Leave. You're so god damn annoying."

"I-I don't know--"

"Don't give me that. You and Naruto can just shut the hell up and leave me the fuck alone."

"P-please, I d-don't know what you're--"

"I told you to stop that. Just go away. Maybe then I can forget you."

C-

He didn't mean to be mean, really. She was just so god damn annoying.

* * *

She didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't being Sasuke that's for sure.

O

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"Just go away. Leave. You're so god damn annoying."

O

Suddenly she got angry…and scared. Leaving?! No way in Hell. After all she did; what she and Naruto had done. She would not give that up. Not even for him.

O

"I told you to stop that. Just go away. Maybe then I can forget you."

"…"

O

He remembered her. He thought about her. He remembered _her._ He thought about _her._ 'Maybe then I can forget you.'

No way.

* * *

"No."

C-

What the Hell? He had just asked her to leave. She was causing too much; breaking too much. She needed to leave.

C-

"No, Sasuke-kun. I won't leave you. No matter how much you order or beg, I'm not leaving."

"Yes you are God damnit! I don't need you! Leave!"

C-

They were falling all around him. Cracking into disrepair. Why didn't he rebuild them?

Through all the ruble came the answer, the one he didn't want to hear.

C-

"No, Sasuke-kun! Naruto and I have worked too hard! We are not going to leave you! Never ever!"

"You're Ninja. Of course you are."

"So are you! But you're also human!"

C-

No he wasn't, even he knew it.

* * *

Funny, it wasn't raining. In the movies it rained during this fight. Today it was a nice, if breezy, spring afternoon.

How she wished it were raining. It would hide her tears.

O

"…I am not. I am an Avenger."

"Not now you're not! You killed Itachi!"

"I know that."

"Accept that, Sasuke-kun! Accept it and move on!"

"I have--"

"NO YOU HAVEN'T!"

O

Screaming through the tears hurt. It hurt so much, to see him buried under all he had worked so hard to keep up; under the walls she had torn down.

* * *

This wasn't her. She wasn't supposed to cry. She was supposed to be happy and smiling and loud.

She was supposed to be spring.

C-

"Shut up. You don't know anything."

"Yes I do, Sasuke-kun! I do!"

C-

Yes, yes she does. She knows way too much. She came in too far. She'll be crushed, just like him.

C-

"I-I know so much about you, S-Sasuke-kun! I-I think I know more about you than you do."

"No you don't."

* * *

"You don't know anything about me."

O

Oh, but she did. She knew too much. Even she knew it. What she didn't know was what was coming next.

O

"If you did, you'd know."

He had moved closer. So close that he was right in front of her, looking down on her tear-stained face. So close. She could feel his breath. It was warm, but hers was faster. Her lips were also warmer.

* * *

He was suffocating. Whether it was because of the walls crashing around him or the lack of oxygen was anyone's guess, but he hoped it was the former. He didn't feel like tasting oxygen yet; she tasted so much better.

C-

Great, his favorite shirt was wet. She'd have to wash it.

* * *

She cried so hard. She cried for him, but they weren't her tears, they were his.

O

There it was; she could feel it. The small boy he hid. She heard it call out to her. She held that little boy, and helped him cry: shedding the tears he couldn't, and helping him move on from that frightful night.

oOo

SMILE.


End file.
